Pakistan Taliban Lambastes Schoolgirl for U.N. Speech

Anti-Western View Shown in Verbal Attack Permeates Pakistani Society

By

Saeed Shah

Updated July 18, 2013 6:59 a.m. ET

ISLAMABAD—Malala Yousafzai, a teenage campaigner for girls' education who was nearly killed by Pakistani militants, was feted at the United Nations last week. Here at home, however, she has been widely portrayed as part of a Western conspiracy against Islam and the developing world.

A 1,800-word open letter in imperfect English by Adnan Rasheed, one of the most feared Taliban leaders in Pakistan, outlined these conspiracy theories...